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In 1960/61 a group of experienced MI6 (SIS) African hands went on an operation that took them from Dar-es-Salem in Tanzania to Usumbura (capital of the then Urundi, now Burundi) and on to Stanleyville (now Kisangani) in the Congo, a journey of approximately 1,500 KMs (1,100 miles)
The nature and purpose of the expedition remains unclear, it may have been for fact-finding or familiarisation purposes or indeed to conduct a specific operation. Station-to-station assistance was common in SIS at the time. Commercial air travel was still relatively new so it made sense for assistance to be sought from a neighbouring country station rather than from far distant London. At the time Daphne PARK (photographed) was stationed in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) where she was consul and head of the SIS station. Urundi, a Belgian protectorate, was also of interest to SIS and a small station was established there.

The author is interested in learning the identities of those who are captioned UNKNOWN. Given that Daphne Park was one of the very few female intelligence officers in SIS at that time the probability is that the women featured are SIS secretaries whose role while on overseas posts was akin to that of an assistant intelligence officer rather than purely secretarial. Please send suggested names (with picture number) to woody@iol.ie. (Pictures courtesy of Sarah Herbert-Jones).